


A Beacon in the Dark

by buzzbuzz34



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Lighthouse Keeper AU, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-08-20 23:43:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20236339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buzzbuzz34/pseuds/buzzbuzz34
Summary: An AU where Zolf is a grumpy lighthouse keeper and Hamid is lost in the middle of a storm, accidentally ending up at Zolf's doorstep.  Despite his curmudgeonly attitude, Zolf nurses Hamid back to health until the loneliness of Zolf's lighthouse and the condemnation of Hamid's family seem to fade away.





	1. Initiation

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU in as much as the London Rangers (we're still working on the name) were never formed. Nobody ever becomes a mercenary, the Simulacrum is somebody else's problem, etc, but Hamid is still a sorcerer running from his actions at University and Zolf is still a cleric trying to sort out his feelings regarding the divine.

The sea was angry. The waves crashed hard against the rocks and the rain fell in heavy droplets that hurt when they collided with skin. Lightning dotted the dark, night sky. 

Zolf stood atop the lighthouse, fighting with the lamp yet again. It would be his luck that he’d find the one lighthouse with the broken light. Despite his best efforts over the years, the crack in the side continued to grow and leak out the oil that provided such desperate illumination, particularly on nights like these. 

He patched the leak as best he could, then stood and stared out at the ocean. Rain pelted him, but he relished the feeling of cool, salty wind against his face. There was nothing but the sound of the waves and the solitude that became him. 

Until… what daft idiot would be heading to the lighthouse at this hour, in this weather? 

Zolf marched down the stairs, sighing with every step, to check on the intruder whose shadow he noticed at his doorstep. He swung open the door to reveal a young halfling, drenched and shivering with cold. 

“What are you doing!?” Zolf cried above the howl of the wind. 

“I’m…”

“Get inside!” 

Before the halfling could protest, Zolf swooped behind them and pushed them inside. 

“Are you from the Church?” Zolf said angrily as he wheeled around on the halfling once the door was closed and the elements shut outside. “Because if you are, you can head right back out there this instant. I told them I need time, and you lot constantly pestering me isn’t about to help me make a decision in your favor.”

The halfling’s lip quivered and he spoke quietly but concisely. “No, I’m not from any Church. I just… I got lost in the storm, and this was the first shelter I could find.”

“Yeah, you definitely got lost. The port’s not exactly close by.”

“I know. It wasn’t my wisest decision.”

With a grunt, Zolf trotted off to get some towels and blankets for his visitor. He didn’t enjoy the intrusion, but he wasn’t heartless; it’s not as if he could leave them out in the storm on their own, assuming they were telling the truth about not being with the Poseidon lot. And the way their tears mixed with the rainy rivulets still racing down their entirety, Zolf was inclined to believe that. 

But when he turned back, the halfling was miraculously dry. 

“Well… I guess you don’t need these then.” Zolf flung the towels on a nearby table. “Get in here. I’ll get you something warm to drink.”

“You don’t have to do that. I should head out of here, I’m sorry to impose.”

Zolf grabbed a blanket, wrapped it around the halfling’s shoulders, and bodily led them to the couch to sit them down. He then headed into the kitchen to make some tea. 

“Thank you,” they said graciously as they accepted the piping hot mug. 

“So… I’m Zolf. What can I call you?”

“Oh! Hamid. Hamid Saleh… Hamid will do.”

“Fair enough. Now, I have a question.”

Hamid took a deep breath and seemed to steel himself. “I’m sure. What can I tell you?”

“You were soaking wet when you came in here, I turn around, and then you’re dry! How did you manage that?”

“Magic, of course!” He released a breath and visibly relaxed, shoulders slumping from their tensed state at Zolf’s question. “It’s quite a simple spell, really.”

“Ah, you’re a magicky type then.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Zolf snapped his fingers and a nearby candle lit itself. He smirked. “Not at all.” After a minute, he asked, “I have another question, one you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” 

Hamid immediately tensed up again and he took a long sip of tea. 

“Why were you out in the storm? These cliffs aren’t exactly safe in the best of weather anyway.”

“I was… at the port to catch a ship.”

“How did you end up all the way up here, then?”

“I couldn’t decide what ship to take. I thought about going home, but it’s not as if I would be welcome, and I thought about heading as far away as possible, but I didn’t know what might await me there, so… I decided to just start walking. It seemed a good alternative to the two, despite knowing it wouldn’t end well.”

Zolf let out a long exhale. “I understand. I’m sorry to pry, it’s just rare to see people out in a squall like this.” He gestured around to the storm outside. “But don’t worry. We all have things we’re running from.”

After a long pause, Zolf stood and held out a hand for Hamid’s mug. “Let me get you some more tea.”

When he returned and sat back down, Hamid wiped the last set of tears from his face and pulled the blanket a little tighter around himself. 

“Thank you for letting me in, but I’ll be out of your hair soon, I promise.”

“You’re in no fit shape to be going anywhere,” Zolf reprimanded. “Whatever magic got you dry didn’t stop you getting sick first.”

“I’m not sick!” Hamid insisted weakly, followed by a cough and a more potent shiver. 

“Right. Could’ve fooled me. Listen, despite my sarcasm, you certainly can’t head back outside tonight, and it doesn’t sound like you have a place nearby to stay with someone to look after you. So, you’re welcome to stay here until you’re better.”

“I wouldn’t think of imposing on you…”

“You’re not. Now, drink your tea, and I’ll get the extra room set up.”


	2. Split

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Hamid's health improves, he and Zolf talk more about their pasts and what they're running from. Also, Zolf tries to teach Hamid how to fish, which ends about as well as you'd expect.

Adrenaline had kept Hamid going the first night out in the rain, but now that he was safely tucked away inside the sickness that he caught in the storm hit him with full force. He barely left the bed in the spare room that Zolf had prepared for him and, when he did, he slumped around lethargically. 

For the next several days, Zolf nursed Hamid back to health with a steady dose of soup and tea, and the occasional bout of healing magic. Hamid was in no state for conversation, and Zolf wasn’t one for chatting, so they passed much of the time in silence. 

After a few days, Hamid was finally well enough to start walking around again, though Zolf insisted that he should stay put if he had nowhere else to go. One evening, as sunset started to fall across the lighthouse, Hamid climbed up to the top and found Zolf there, breathing in the crisp sea air. 

“Does it get lonely?” Hamid asked as he took his place on the railing beside Zolf. 

“What?”

“Does it get lonely?”

“Just because I’m by myself doesn’t mean I’m lonely. I’ve never felt that way while I’ve been out here.”

Hamid nodded, though he couldn’t imagine it himself. “I know it would drive me mad, not having anyone around to talk to.”

“I didn’t notice,” Zolf teased in a grumble, referencing the many times throughout the week that Hamid had tried to speak, only to be stopped by his croaking throat. 

Hamid smiled sheepishly. “And you haven’t gone into town all week. How do you keep yourself fed and supplied?”

“I fish. And I have my own garden,” Zolf explained, and led Hamid to the far side of the lighthouse peak, where a haphazardly built platform extended outward. It was covered in potted plants of a wide variety, though they all produced some kind of vegetable or fruit. “A couple times a year someone will bring me enough oil to keep the lamp lit. So, I don’t really need to go out.”

“You don’t even want to?”

Zolf sighed. “I’m happy here. Happy enough, at least. I don’t need other people to tell me how to be.”

“I’m sorry,” Hamid replied hastily. “I didn’t mean to pry or accuse you of anything.”

“It’s fine.”

They stood in silence again, looking out over the garden and the sea behind it. Hamid fidgeted, wanting to say more, wanting to understand the strange man that had taken him in and cared for him when no one else would, but not wanting to interrupt his solitude. 

“I don’t even know how to fish,” Hamid realized aloud. 

Zolf laughed. Was this the first time he’d even smiled since Hamid crashed on his doorstep? It was a loud, boisterous laugh that had seen better times, and Hamid couldn’t help but chuckle along with him. 

“Well, tomorrow, if you’re well enough, I can show you a thing or two.”

“I would like that.”

*

The next morning, Hamid met Zolf on the dock after eating the haphazard breakfast of fish that had been left out for him. Perhaps such a modest diet was fine for someone who wanted to limit his reliance on the outside world, but Hamid was getting tired of adaptations on fish as a main course. 

“Ah, you made it,” Zolf said, turning to Hamid and holding out a fishing pole. “Ready for your first lesson?”

Hamid gingerly accepted the tool and held it awkwardly in his hands. Zolf noticed this and rectified his statement. 

“Okay, we’re starting at step zero, I see. That’s alright, we all have to start somewhere.”

“I’m sorry,” Hamid said sincerely, then explained, “I’m originally from Cairo. We don’t exactly have a lot of bodies of water around.”

“That does explain a lot. Alright, here, let’s get started…”

Zolf demonstrated how to hold the fishing pole and how to bait it – despite Hamid’s squeamishness. And then they got onto the cast itself. 

“No, no, here.” 

Hamid’s casts were feeble, and the line barely made it to the water. If he kept it up like that, it was more likely the hook would end up in Hamid than in a fish. 

To help him correct his motion, Zolf stood behind Hamid and placed his hands atop of Hamid’s own. He then performed a cast as he would normally and moved Hamid along with him so that he could get a feel for it. This time, the line landed satisfyingly in the water, but neither moved. 

“There you go, just like that. Does that make sense?” Zolf asked, his hands still gently wrapped around Hamid’s. 

“It does. Though I’m not sure I won’t need help again.”

“Just say the word.” 

At this point, Zolf realized that Hamid was still wrapped up in his arms, and immediately darted away to cast his own line into the water. 

“What now?” Hamid questioned. 

Zolf sat down on the pier and let his legs dangle over the water. “Now? Now we wait for something to bite. When the bobber goes under, we pull the line out, like I said before.”

“Right.” Hamid took a deep breath and then followed Zolf’s lead by sitting down on the wooden surface. 

“So, what is Cairo like? If you don’t mind me asking.”

They’d been silent for several minutes before Zolf made his question. 

“It’s very different. Lots of sand.” Hamid chuckled. “But my family has lived there for ages, as long as the records go back, I believe. It’s always been home.”

“What brought you to England, then?”

“School.”

“I bet that was a bit of a change for you.”

“You have no idea. I was on my own. I was the only halfling, the only person from so far away. It…” Hamid paused, not sure how to continue, but the pressure in his chest started to overflow. “I hurt people. While I was at university.”

At that, Zolf moved to face Hamid, concern on his face. Not concern that Hamid would turn on him, but concern for Hamid himself, filled with sympathy and compassion. 

“I trusted the wrong people. I tried to fit in because I was so different and… it was an accident. At least on my end.”

Zolf was quiet when he spoke. “Is that why you’re running away from everything?”

“Yes. I was wandering from casino to casino, drinking and gambling away my problems, but then I hit the coast and I had to really decide where I was going next. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. This isn’t your burden. You’ve already done more than enough for me.” Hamid wasn’t even sure why he’d made such a confession. He hadn’t told anyone else, but it seemed to be building up inside of him, and now the dam burst loose at Zolf’s expense. 

However, Zolf leaned over and placed a hand on Hamid’s shoulder. “It’s alright.” Hamid bristled at the touch, not expecting softness, but soon slumped into it. 

“Thank you.” Hamid looked over at Zolf and gave the best smile he could muster. 

As they each turned back to the water, Zolf made his own confession. “I was a cleric of Poseidon but now I’m on the run from the Church because I don’t know if I believe in anything anymore.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Still like the sea though, so this seems as good a place as any to do some pondering.”

“Have you… figured anything out?”

Zolf let out a heavy exhale. “Not really. But sometimes I think that’s okay. Other times… I wish things made more sense.”

“I know how that feels.”

Before either of them could say anything more, the bobber on the end of Hamid’s line quickly sank beneath the waves and caught both of their attention. 

“Grab the pole!” Zolf yelled. “Grab the reel!”

“I don’t remember what that is!” 

Zolf attempted to lean over and help Hamid, who struggled to hold the rod steady as whatever fish he’d managed to snag fought with all its might to be released. However, he only just grabbed a hold of Hamid’s jacket when the halfling lost the battle and plummeted into the water, dragging Zolf with him. 

“Hamid!” Zolf cried as he broke the surface. “Oh, please tell me he can swim…” He scanned all around him to see where Hamid might have gotten to and dove back beneath the waves to try and catch sight of him sinking. 

However, Hamid appeared beside him soon after, gasping and struggling to tread water. 

“I’m sorry!” He cried, spluttering as more saltwater entered his mouth. 

Zolf swam over to him and managed to drag him through the water the short distance back to the pier. He hefted him back atop it before crawling out himself, his peg leg scrabbling as he did so. 

“I’m so sorry.” Hamid shook as he spoke. “I lost the line. I’ll pay you back for a new fishing pole, I didn’t-”

Zolf shook his head. “It’s fine, it’s fine. But come on, we have to get you back inside and get you dry before you catch sick again. You’re not fully recovered and getting doused in cold seawater isn’t going to help.”

With an arm around Hamid’s shoulders, Zolf hurried him back inside the lighthouse and busied himself with grabbing towels, blankets, and a change of clothes for the both of them. 

“Get changed. It’ll do a load of good getting you warm.”

Hamid obliged, taking the meager outfit Zolf had provided for him and changed into it in a nearby room. When he returned, he was still shivering, so Zolf placed a blanket around his shoulders and tugged him in close. 

“Why do you like the sea so much?” Hamid asked through chattering teeth. “It’s so mean!”

Zolf couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “I mean, you’re not exactly wrong about that.”

The pair continued to stand, huddled together, until Hamid finally stopped shivering, but he still held onto Zolf’s shirt as a lifeline from the cruelty of the ocean. 

“Thank you,” he muttered, adjusting the blanket around himself as Zolf stood back to give him a once over, verifying he didn’t have any other injuries or ailments. “And I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was an accident. Let me get you some tea, get you warmed up some more.”

When Zolf returned with two steaming mugs, he squinted at Hamid. “Wait, couldn’t you have just done that magic thing to dry yourself off? Like you did when you first came in from the rain?”

Hamid’s eyes opened wide and he said nothing for a few long seconds. “I totally forgot about that!” He admitted, accepting the mug. “I forgot that was a thing I could do. I think was too panicked at it all. And I…” He stopped himself before he realized he was about to admit that he’d been too caught up in the feeling of Zolf’s arm around him and how the warmth it brought him was more than just the sharing of body heat. “I just forgot.”

“Fair enough.”

“I still would have been cold though. That doesn’t affect my body temperature.” Hamid looked over at Zolf, who now sat beside him on the couch, wearing his own fresh, dry set of clothing. “Aren’t you cold?”

He shrugged. “I’m more used to it.”

Despite his assurances and Hamid’s desperate attempt to keep his thoughts to himself, he noticed Zolf shudder and hold the hot cup of tea a little bit tighter. In response, Hamid scooched over closer so that their shoulders pressed against each other. 

Zolf glanced at him, confused, and he explained, “Body heat is supposed to be good for this sort of thing, right?”

“It is.” He said and then smiled. Zolf wrapped an arm around Hamid’s shoulders and pulled him in closer so that he rested against his chest. They sat in silence and drank their tea until they were both warm, but even then, neither moved from their place of comfort and safety against the hazards of the outside world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!! Chapter 3 will be up tomorrow!  
(Oh, if anyone is curious, the chapters are named after the progression of a tsunami)


	3. Amplification

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hamid shows off his magic while helping Zolf fix the lighthouse's leaky lamp, and Zolf has an epiphany about the feelings he tried so hard to ignore.

The next day, Hamid looked up from his book as Zolf rushed past him, arms full of unrecognizable supplies. He grumbled and mumbled angrily under his breath. 

“Do you need help?” Hamid asked cautiously. 

Zolf just groaned before heading up the spiral stairs. 

Not having received a ‘no,’ Hamid took that as a request for assistance, and decided to follow after him. Besides, he was eager to have something other to do than read all of these terrible romance novels Zolf had acquired, the work of some Harrison Campbell; they were dry and trashy, but they seemed to be the only literature Zolf owned, and it _also_ seemed that Zolf owned a copy of _every_ book in _every_ series published by this author.

When Hamid reached the very top of the lighthouse, he found Zolf kneeling amidst the supplies, still muttering to himself. 

“What’s the matter?”

“The lamp is broken,” Zolf explained. “Not completely, but there’s a crack in it. Keeps leaking oil. I’ve patched it up so many times. Last night’s storm really did a number on it though, and now I’ve got to fix it again because I couldn’t even find an abandoned lighthouse to live in with a working lamp.”

He painted some tar onto a piece of leather and slapped it on over the edges of the crack with annoyance. 

“You don’t use a fire elemental?” Hamid asked.

“It’s a smaller port. Not enough people come through here to make it cost effective. No, I just have oil, that keeps leaking all over the damn place.”

As Zolf continued with his aggressive arts and crafts project, Hamid started to pace, fidgeting with his hands. He could cast prestidigitation easily, and dancing lights wasn’t that much harder. The few fire spells that had somehow gotten into his brain wouldn’t last long enough to serve any use. And it wasn’t as if he was capable of summoning his own elemental. Not yet, at least. 

Caught up in his thoughts, Hamid headed down the stairs and left Zolf on his own. 

“Okay, bye,” Zolf called, then shrugged. It’s not as if he needed help, but just walking off like that seemed rather rude for someone who had, up until then, been excessively and almost irritatingly well-mannered. 

Edging on toward an hour later, Zolf was cleaning up his supplies, still swearing at the lamp as if that would make it cooperate. However, his rant was interrupted when Hamid returned to the pedestal. 

“Are those… my mirrors?”

In Hamid’s hands was a contraption made of several mirrors, a few chunks of metal that had once been cooking sheets, and a single glass pane. A heavy amount of fishing line held it all together. Inside the mirrors, several small, moving lights spun around the space. 

“I’m sorry, I can get you replacements, but I wanted to help…” Hamid held out the amalgamation of Zolf’s household items and he accepted it confusedly. 

“What is this?”

“It’s a replacement for your lamp,” Hamid explained. “I apologize it isn’t better looking, but it’s the best I could do in short time and with limited supplies. Since the lamp keeps leaking, these dancing lights should provide enough of a beam to make oil obsolete.”

Zolf’s expression changed from bafflement, to consideration, to satisfaction in an instant. 

“That… might actually work.”

Tossing aside some important looking bits from the top of the lamp, Zolf set down the contraption and readjusted the mirrors to send the beam of light out to sea. 

The light was brighter and stronger than anything oil could have produced, even if it was somewhat pinker in color and occasionally flickered as the dancing lights performed their movement. The motion wasn’t enough to hinder the usefulness of this new beam, though. 

“That’s impressive,” Zolf admitted with a grin as he turned back to Hamid. 

“I’m not sure how long it’ll last. I put a permanency spell on the lights, so they shouldn't fade, but I'm not sure how well it might work. Should last a few months at the very least. Long enough for me to make something more permanent and less cobbled together.”

“Hamid, I appreciate it, but you don’t have to-”

“You’ve been so kind to me, Zolf. You took better care of me than many of my blood relatives would have. And it means a lot to me that you took me in when I had nowhere else to go. This is the least I can do.”

Zolf smiled softly and then pulled Hamid into an embrace as the halfling started to cry. 

“It’s alright. You owe me nothing, but I certainly won’t say no to a lamp that won’t start leaking all over my house randomly,” he joked and they both laughed. 

“I’m glad it works. And I am sorry for taking all of your mirrors and… reconfiguring them.”

Zolf laughed again, gesturing to his face as Hamid pulled away and wiped away his tears. “They came with the place. Does it look like I have much use for mirrors? There’s only so much that can be done with a face like this.”

“You’re very handsome, Zolf, don’t put yourself down.”

Zolf froze with those words, not sure how to reply. As his senses returned to him, he realized that his cheeks were flushed and warm, and he decided the best option was to just get out of there before he could make more of a fool of himself. He haphazardly grabbed up the remainder of his supplies and started down the stairs. At first, he started to mutter something about the garden and how he needed to get back to work, but then he abandoned the obvious lie as he stammered on. 

What was he doing? Why did he get so useless when Hamid offered him help and a compliment? Why did his chest get tight whenever he saw him?

He’d ignored all of these thoughts up until now, pushing them aside and reminding himself that Hamid was essentially his patient, and it was his duty to get him feeling better and send him on his way. But right then, he couldn’t move past it, and he most certainly couldn’t bear the thought of Hamid leaving his life entirely. Looking up from the garden and seeing the new lamp that Hamid had created for him, the light it shone upon the sea, he couldn’t help but feel that Hamid had illuminated something inside of him as well. 

_That’s stupid, Zolf_, he tried to tell himself. _Stop it. You never were the emotional type. Why start now?_

The voice inside his head had a point, but that didn’t stop the way his heart fluttered when he saw Hamid pass by and head back down into the house at the base of the spiral stairs. Feelings were complicated. But the way Hamid made him light up inside? 

That seemed pretty straightforward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! The next chapter will be up tomorrow!


	4. Run-Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hamid's health has improved enough that he's considering heading on his way. As their time together grows short, Zolf decides to confess his feelings, to potentially disastrous results.

It was nice to have company as he laid on his back and looked up at the sky, and Zolf knew the stars well from his years as a sailor. Hamid listened intently as Zolf told the tales of the constellations and personal anecdotes from the sea; the fervor in his voice kept Hamid enraptured. 

Occasionally, Hamid would interject with a different story or an alternate figure etched into the sky from growing up in Cairo, where fewer of the constellations told the tales of the sea and more of sand. In the end, the morals were the same, however, as the dunes of the desert had more in common with the waves of the sea than Hamid ever realized before his myriad misadventures brought him to Zolf’s door. 

After Zolf finished telling the tale of an ancient healer who spread their medicine across the ocean, he got very quiet. 

“You’re more than healthy enough to head on your way,” he said quietly. “Not as if I could ever really keep you here, but your sickness is gone. You can leave whenever you want.”

“I had been thinking about it,” Hamid admitted. “But I’m honestly not sure where to go. I promise I won’t be a burden much longer, it’s not right for me to put this on you.”

“Hamid, you’re not a burden. And you’re welcome to stay. As long as you need. Or want. You’re always welcome here.”

“Really?” It was all Hamid could manage to say as his throat started to tighten. 

Zolf nodded, still staring up at the stars when Hamid glanced over to him. “I’ve actually really enjoyed having you here. You know how you asked if it got lonely here?”

Hamid nodded, not sure if Zolf could even see him. 

“Well, the truth is, I never thought of it like that. But now? Thinking of how it’ll be once you’re gone and I’m still here, all by myself… that sounds frighteningly lonely. And that’s not a guilt trip!” He added hastily. “I just… I like you, Hamid. And I like having you around. So… yeah. Anyway… wherever you go, you better write me. Let me know what you’re up to so I can make sure you’re not running off into any storms again.”

Hamid chuckled. “Of course.”

Before he could say anything more, Zolf reached over, shaking, and took Hamid’s hand into his own. The contact was gentle and by no means forceful. It was a question that Zolf asked to Hamid and himself, and to the sea and the stars. 

Truthfully, Hamid still didn’t know where to go once he left the lighthouse. He didn’t have a home to return to. The words of his father, telling him to make something of himself, still echoed in his skull, but he was too afraid and too insecure to even know where to start. But he couldn’t go back to the casino. He wouldn’t. He refused to fall any further down that hole of regret and despair and addiction. 

However comfortable he felt beside Zolf, with their hands entwined between their bodies, it terrified him almost as much as facing his family again. His stomach twisted up in knots and his throat constricted. In the end, he quickly pulled his hand away and stood up, headed toward the stairs with a last glance toward Zolf, who watched him with a look that said he was more disappointed in himself than in Hamid’s response. 

“I just… I don’t know,” Hamid said, clutching the railing of the stairwell as he tottered on the edge. 

“I’m sorry. That was too forward of me, it was wrong. I’ve never sought to take advantage of you or your condition while you were here, and I apologize for… for… _that_.” Zolf had sat up to watch Hamid go, and now he gestured feebly with the hand that had just recently held Hamid’s, before letting it flop back to his side. 

“It’s alright,” Hamid replied. Despite his sincerity, his voice was quiet as his heart and his head roared internally. “I’m… I’m going to get some sleep. Goodnight, Zolf.”

“Goodnight.”

With that, Hamid disappeared down the stairs and left Zolf alone, with nothing but the crashing waves and a thousand distant constellations to keep him company. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! The last chapter will be up tomorrow!


	5. Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after Zolf tells Hamid how he feels, he finds the lighthouse empty, with no sign of Hamid anywhere.

The next morning, Zolf found the lighthouse empty. Hamid was nowhere to be found, his bed made, and not even a note left as a farewell. 

Zolf couldn’t blame him, not really. He’d have run too, if someone like him had expressed any kind of interest in him. _This is why it was better to keep to yourself_, he his head reminded him disdainfully, to be so alone that loneliness never had the chance to pick your heart apart. 

He barely had the strength to make himself a cup of tea and walk out to the end of the pier as the sun finished its rise over the horizon and carried on to another day, as if everything was alright, as if Zolf’s heart hadn’t just been shattered. There had always been this risk, that Hamid wouldn’t reciprocate and that he’d just leave without even a sympathetic word, but that option seemed a better alternative to never saying anything. Maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe regret was easier to handle than knowing for sure that he wasn’t good enough.

His hand shook with rage and despair, and Zolf chucked the entire mug of tea into the ocean with a yell. He wanted to swear at Poseidon, at the waves that watched him, at the sun and its monotonous inevitability, but he couldn’t find the words as tears flowed from his eyes and he dropped to his knees. 

It felt like ages before Zolf could muster the energy to stand, but the sun had barely risen any higher in the sky. He still had a whole day ahead of him. A whole day alone. 

He turned and moved back down the pier to tend to his chores and had barely started up the stairs to his garden when he heard a knock on the door. 

“What do you want?” Zolf screamed. “You damn Poseidon lot are in for a surprise, coming to bother me this morning.” As he moved to the door, he grabbed his discarded trident to greet his unfortunate guests. 

However, when he threw open the door, there was only one person there waiting for him. 

“Hamid? I thought you’d gone.”

“Oh, Zolf…” His eyes darted over the firm grip Zolf held on the trident, the trails of half-dried tears that decorated his face, and the quiver of his lip. “I thought I would be back before you got up. I didn’t mean to worry you, I’m so sorry.”

Hamid set down the many packages he held in his hands and then rushed forward to pull Zolf into a hug. Zolf, meanwhile, continued to stand stock-still. 

“I don’t understand. I thought I’d scared you off.”

“You really think I’d leave without the courtesy of saying farewell? After everything you’ve done for me?”

Zolf shrugged. It was the most movement he could manage. 

“I’m not going anywhere. If the offer you made last night still stands.”

Now, Zolf dropped the trident and it clattered to the ground before finally falling silent. 

“I don’t… understand…” 

“I went into town this morning,” Hamid explained carefully. “I wanted to make you a proper meal. And if I’m going to be staying here, I’m going to need a protein other than fish,” he chuckled. “So, I got supplies: steak, pork, chicken, eggs, enough to last for a little while. I didn’t sleep much last night, thinking everything over, so I left quite early, and thought I would be back before you awoke. That’s why I didn’t say anything or leave a note.”

“I thought you’d left. Left for good.”

“No, Zolf, no. I want… I want to stay. If you’ll have me, still.”

Zolf took a deep breath and then smiled and nodded. He held out his hands to take some of the packages Hamid had acquired and, together, they headed into the kitchen to put things away. Once they were done, Zolf made two new, fresh cups of tea and handed one to Hamid who waited nearby. 

“I’m sorry for what I said last night-”

“I wanted to talk to you about last night-”

They spoke at the same time before stopping, laughing sheepishly into their tea, and then looking at the other. 

“Go ahead,” Zolf said, hoping the break would give him the chance to get his brain working again after it had seemingly stopped when he saw Hamid on the doorstep. 

“Last night, what you said… it scared me. Because, I realized, I care about you a great deal. I’ve never felt like this for a man before, and it’s… it’s all new and it caught me off guard. All of the signs throughout the week about my feelings fell into place and that epiphany terrified me more than anything else. And when I thought about where else to go, I kept thinking I didn’t have a home. But somehow… this seems like home. With you. I don’t know what it all means,” Hamid added. “Or how it’ll work out. But, at least for now, I want to try, and I want to stay. I want to stay with _you_.” 

He watched Zolf carefully, not quite making full eye contact with him as he made his confession, waiting for a response. 

“Are you sure?”

“I haven’t been this sure about anything in ages,” Hamid admitted. 

Zolf couldn’t help but smile, more tears forming in his eyes, but this time they were made with joy. “Let’s see where this goes.”

“I would like that.”

Zolf set down his mug of tea and stepped over to Hamid, reaching out a hand before stopping. 

“Can I…”

“Yes.”

He cupped Hamid’s cheek gently and moved slowly, sure to give him the chance to move and bail if he wanted to, before he carefully kissed him. 

“Is that alright?” Zolf asked, wanting to make sure Hamid was comfortable above all else. 

In response, Hamid leaned over and placed his mug of tea on the counter, and then put a hand on Zolf’s chest before kissing him again. “More than alright.”

“I can’t wait to see where this goes,” Zolf mumbled and they both laughed, smiling gleefully as their lips pressed together again and again. 

The sea had heard their cries for help and provided, though not in the way either would ever have expected. Hamid wanted to belong, and Zolf wanted something to believe in – and in each other they found more than they were looking for, their hearts and eyes opened, following the beacon in the dark to the beginning of a brand-new story. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and sticking with me and these idiot boys <3 I hope you all enjoyed!! And thank you for all of the incredibly kind comments, I'm so thrilled that people liked this story!! Feel free to request any other prompts or ideas or AUs you might have and I'll try to write them for you!

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to see more of my writing, hit up kellanswritingblog.tumblr.com, or come chat on my personal, celsidebottom.tumblr.com <3


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